


A Ravenstag's Lamb

by pumpkinpeasy



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual marriage, Family Drama, Fluff and Angst, Graphic Description, Hannibal Loves Will, Hannibal is a Softie, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Spoilers, Mpreg, Pregnancy, Pregnant Will, Someone Help Will Graham, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, graphic birth, very long and challenging birth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-05-23 22:53:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6132925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pumpkinpeasy/pseuds/pumpkinpeasy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's supposed to be a normal Winter morning, but a special surprise is in store for a very pregnant Will Graham. In which Will has to give birth at home, and Hannibal helps him deliver their long-awaited child.</p><p>Explicit rating for graphic birth and language.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Ravenstag's Lamb

Will woke up to the sounds of birds tweeting outside the house, and sunlight filtering through shadowy grey clouds. He scrubbed a hand over his face, wiping the sleep out of his eyes and reaching for his glasses. Fumbling, Will found the black plastic frames and slid them on. He groaned, feeling the weight in his stomach, the baby kicking occasionally. He looked down, pushing back the white bedsheets to rub his stomach.

The kid had woken him up, again, for what seemed like the hundredth morning in a row. He tried to soothe his pain by massaging his large belly, rubbing his hands over the taut creamy skin and kneading gently. Will’s baby had been restless for some time, now. He felt the vibrations and impact of another hard kick, grunting. Will furrowed his brow in discomfort, massaging in relaxing circles just above his navel.  
  
He petted the full swell of a healthy, 9-month-old baby, hands spanning his stomach as he willed the child to calm down.  
  
“Please, baby…” he whispered, “Your father’s had… six hours of sleep.”  
  
Will tried to draw his mind from the high levels of aching, abdominal cramps by listening to the birds. He could hear bunches of them singing outside, some so close as the tree branch by the bedroom window. His dogs were all padding round outside, he heard; paws trekking over a thin layer of morning snow. Will slowly stroked his tummy, till the pain began to subside, and he figured he was able to get himself to the bathroom.  
  
He took in a deep, shuddering breath, before daring to push himself upwards. Will heaved his body into a sitting position, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. The fullness of having a baby inside him was even more pronounced, when he tried to move; he reckoned that the kid had to weigh ten pounds, by now. Will gripped the nightstand and pulled himself up.  
  
He may have been a little unsteady on his feet, but he was alright. His thighs were trembling, stomach muscles clenching, before there was a hard punch of pain and Will felt something warm trickle down his inner thigh. Panicking, he reached down and felt in his boxers, a sharp stab of a cramp in his gut, just as he touched a steady stream of fluid. It ran down his legs, and he felt another spurt of it pulse from his tight ring of muscles.  
  
Before Will could react or even think, he felt a long, drawn-out pressure building in his pelvis, the longer he kept standing.  
  
“Oh, oh… Shit, no, baby…” he cursed, gritting his teeth through another sharp stab of pain. Will stepped backwards to drop onto the bed, but not before another heavy pulse of fluid could splurge down his thighs and splatter onto the floor.  
  
Will’s hands almost lost their purchase on the nightstand, as he levered himself back onto the bed.  
  
“So that’s what you were doing, huh?” he chuckled wryly, “All this time, you were just getting ready to go?”  
  
He forced himself to smile, even though his throat was burning with the need to vomit. _“H-Hannibal?”_ he called.

Within a few moments, he heard footsteps upstairs, and the door was swung open. Peering over the very large swell of their baby, Will saw the distressed look on his partner’s face.  
  
“Hannibal… Th-The baby’s coming.” he announced, and got a glimpse of what had to be an expression of shock. “C’mere, please…”  
  
Hannibal crossed the room, immediately taking to Will’s bedside and grasping his hand. He was murmuring incoherent things, sounded like more medical jargon, as he placed a firm hand atop Will’s belly. With Hannibal here, he was at least a bit more secure. He was able to breathe clearly, even if through huffs of pain, as the first contractions began.  
  
“Will, I need to take off your underwear.” Hannibal said, and before Will even agreed, he was pulling down his boxers. Right then and there, Will blushed hot in the cheeks; Hannibal was feeling up his inner thighs, their fine tremor.  
  
Will damn near exclaimed when he touched his pulsing rim. It felt inflamed and irritated, but also far looser than it usually was. Hannibal was cautious and modest with Will, but it didn’t change the fact that his boyfriend was checking him down below. Will groaned, feeling another cramp ripple upward from his stomach - it wasn’t as painful as the last, though.  
  
“Will, you’ve begun dilation already. That’s good; it might be a quick birth.” Hannibal said, smiling up at him as he pulled his hands away.  
  
“C’mere.” Will repeated, arms open.  
  
Hannibal moved up to Will, leaned in close and let him wrap his arm tight around his neck. Will could feel him trembling, even through the iron mask of professionalism. Hannibal was excited and on-edge, just as much as he was. He cradled him in his arms and nuzzled against Hannibal’s cheek, actually smiling. The baby was coming.  
  
It was really coming. It was what he and Hannibal had impatiently waited a very, very long nine months for, and here it was, finally. The very prospect, that within hours he and Hannibal could be holding their newborn baby girl or boy in their arms, was simply euphoric. He squeezed Hannibal’s shoulders, laughing.  
  
“They’re finally here.” he said, smiling. Hannibal parted the embrace.  
  
“Now, Will…” he began in response, voice slightly uneven and tinged with what had to be joy, “Will, we must let this happen. Just let nature take its course, and I will help you through everything.”  
  
“I-I know. I know, sweetheart.” Will chuckled. He barely noticed another wave of clenching muscles.  
  
Hannibal stayed stroking his hair until Will agreed to be propped up with another pillow. It would probably be the best angle to help the baby slide out. Hannibal lightly touched his stomach, fingers ghosting atop his full, firm belly. Will had to wonder if his baby knew that their father was touching them, greeting them into the world with a smile on his face.  
  
_“Your dad’s gonna be so happy to hold you.”_

* * * * * * * * * *  
  
20 Minutes Later, 9:37am.  
  
Will was cradling his stomach through another wrenching contraction. Hannibal was situated between his legs once more, checking his dilation status as he groaned loudly. He felt the long, deep ripples of muscle clenching in his belly, tensing and releasing as his body readied itself. The baby kicked, and Will swore at the top of his lungs.  
  
“We’re getting there!” Will yelled. “Can I push?”  
  
“Will, you’re only two centimeters dilated.” Hannibal corrected, “You need to be at a full ten centimeters, before it’s safe to push. Assuming, the child is more than a quarter-inch wide.”  
  
Will threw his head back against the pillow, wiping at the sweat prickling on his temples. Being enthusiastic and overeager wasn’t the right way to go, it seemed. The birth would take a while, as Hannibal told him, “let nature run its course” was the safest option. He slowly forced himself to relax, through the pangs of pressure and hard tremble in his pelvis, just trying to think about the outcome.  
  
The baby would do fine; Hannibal was a trained doctor, and he knew about these things. He could help Will if there were complications.  
  
“Will.” Hannibal said, gripping his hand tight. “We’ll be alright. This is just your body preparing. Just try to relax, and I’ll walk you through it, step by step.”  
  
Will smiled, squeezing Hannibal’s hand back. “Have you ever delivered a baby?”  
  
“A few, actually. They were all a success.” Hannibal assured him. His deep maroon eyes glinted in the morning light flooding through the window, reflecting it in tiny red gleams. He would stay with Will till the very end.  
  
Hannibal may have seemed inherently evil to some, but he’d never given up on Will. He’d never left him alone in a time of crisis, and he certainly wouldn’t do so when their child’s life hung in the balance. Will took in a deep breath, nodding to himself. This was going to be alright. Hannibal reached up and brushed his sweaty dark hair from his forehead, pushing Will’s glasses up his nose. He wondered if Hannibal had paid attention to how he wore them, as he did so.  
  
Will closed his eyes for a moment, feeling Hannibal’s hand run over his cheek, thumbing lightly. These sort of signals of affection were the kind both of them would mimic. He hoped that they wouldn’t need to mimic anything for their baby.  
  
“I’m going to get some water for you, Will. Some towels.” Hannibal said, before standing up and exiting the room.  
  
During a particularly wet pulse, he felt more fluid running down his backside, as he laid there. Towels were probably their best bet. Will massaged his aching belly with both hands, rubbing gently downward, as if to coax the baby into position. He would be ready, soon, and it was important that they both were. Hannibal returned moments later with water and towels, retaking his place beside Will. He wiped down the excess fluid on Will’s thighs, then carefully lifted Will’s hips to place a towel beneath him. If he was the kind that had already broken his water, there would likely be more.  
  
“Will, relax.” Hannibal said, dabbing at Will’s forehead with a cool, damp cloth. “It’s important for you and the child.”  
  
“I’m relaxed.” Will said, swallowing hard. It was an outright lie - he wasn’t relaxed in any sense of the term, especially not when he was in the beginning of giving birth. Still, he hoped the lie assuaged some of Hannibal’s worry.  
  
The next contractions began within a few minutes.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
40 Minutes Later, 10:17am.  
  
The fierce midmorning light was piercing the skies, now. It glinted and gleamed off everything in the bedroom, including Will’s heaving chest as he clutched at the bedsheets. He was trying to keep from screaming, but the contractions were getting so much worse, now. Tighter, clenching and rough, to which end he was worried for the baby.  
  
“Four centimeters.” Hannibal announced, and Will slapped the bed in frustration. “Do you want me to call Du Maurier?”  
  
“No… N-No.” Will managed. He stretched his legs, extending them before bringing them back to their bent position. “We can do this. Right?”  
  
“Right.” Hannibal agreed.  
  
Will’s back arched as he felt the baby stirring inside. “The-- The kid’s getting agitated.”  
  
“No doubt. It’s getting ready to enter the world, Will, and you need to be ready for that to happen.” Hannibal said. “Just breathe. Deep breaths, there you go…”  
  
Will obeyed and tried Hannibal’s breathing exercise. Large, deep breaths slowly in through the nose, exhaling calmly through the mouth. His chest languidly rising and falling didn’t seem to excite the baby further.  He felt Hannibal sprinkling cool water onto his face, then dabbing with the cloth again. Water mingled with the saltiness of sweat ran down his face, but it kept him tempered as his body readied.  
  
Just then, his legs began to tingle, as they were held in that same stiff position for over an hour, now. He felt a kind of numbness beginning to envelop them, and started shifting his legs.  
  
“What’s wrong?” Hannibal asked.  
  
“I-I just… My legs are going numb. D’you think we could move around?” he asked, “I just need to stand up.”  
  
“Alright.”  
  
Hannibal stood up, first, then carefully pulled Will upwards into a sitting position. Will felt nauseous and a little dizzy, but they took it slow. He suddenly had the weighted feeling of having his large, rounded stomach rest in his lap, as he sat up. Hannibal narrowed his brow, when Will started laughing. His body ached as he doubled over in laughter, cradling his belly.  
  
“I-I just-- I don’t know… I’m so happy, though.” Will chuckled.  
  
“It’s your hormones.” Hannibal told him, giving what seemed to be a slight eye-roll at Will’s change in behavior.  
  
Endorphins aside, Will smiled and let Hannibal pull his legs over the side of the bed, slowly easing Will up and back onto his feet. He almost stumbled, his legs losing nearly all feeling by this time, but he was determined to get it back. He wrapped his arms around Hannibal’s shoulders, his boyfriend helping him regain his balance.  
  
“You’re such a great partner, though, Han…” he said, surprised at his slurring speech. “Perfect, I mean…”  
  
_“Will._ On a scale of one to ten, how bad is your pain?” he asked.  
  
“Ohh… uhm, maybe a six. It’s not that bad.” Will said. Hannibal took in a deep shivering breath and helped Will begin to walk.  
  
He just placed one foot in front of the other, Hannibal moving with Will’s plodding gait. His mind was rushing and his legs slowly regained feeling as they kept moving around the room. His stomach ached and thrummed with the contractions, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle. Will tightened his grip on Hannibal, his thighs starting to tremble from holding up his own weight. Will grunted hard, through a deep, wrenching twist in his stomach, almost losing his balance from the pain. It was only when he stumbled, that he turned them around.  
  
“Okay, I… I can feel them again.” he gasped, and Hannibal nodded.  
  
“Yes, but we need to keep you laying down, otherwise.” Hannibal said, taking him back to bed. “It’s not good for you to be up and down, unless you lose feeling again.”  
  
Will hummed his agreement as Hannibal gently eased him back down into bed. He situated Will’s hips above the towel once more, making sure he was comfortable. Will couldn’t have asked for someone better, in times like these. Hannibal sat down between his open legs, and started checking him again.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
2 Hours Later, 12:51pm.  
  
_“Hannibal!”_ Will damn near screamed.  
  
The dogs were barking outside, needing to be let in to see if their master was alright. From the screams and yelling, their master could have been being murdered, for all they knew.  
  
_“Six centimeters, Will.”_ Hannibal answered, above Will’s cries.  
  
Will’s toes curled and body arched through the pain, fingers clenching in handfuls of the bedsheets. He was heated and dizzied, overwhelmed by the throbbing pain from down below, as his body opened up. Whatever his body was doing to ready itself, it sure as Hell was taking its sweet-ass time, as far as Will was concerned. He could see Hannibal was even beginning to worry; a tiny crease in his brow that shouldn’t be there, a small gasp every now and then.  
  
Hannibal could play the strong-and-protective card all he liked; Will could see that he was just as nervous. Then, he felt a particularly potent clench of muscle in his abdomen, stinging in discomfort. His whole lower half was losing itself in a wave of tremors and cramps.  
  
“Will, please…” Hannibal said, “Don’t get lost in the pain. Our child will come, soon, I promise you.”  
  
“How can you… promise something you-- _shit!”_ Will swore, hands clamping down hard in the sheets. He felt a horrible tensity building in his pelvis, that certainly wasn’t their baby. He gritted his teeth and moaned through the next contraction.  
  
“Shh, shh, Will…” Hannibal soothed, lightly stroking his cheek. Will’s head twitched in the direction of his hand. “The birth is _progressing,_ and that’s… That’s what we need, now.”  
  
Will nodded frantically, hair flopping on his forehead. That it was. They needed the baby to work its way down a fully-opened birth canal, and Will was almost there. Almost. He let his head fall back, and toughed it out through the next contractions. Their baby was getting born, whether it was now or in another 24 hours. Will Graham played to win.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
1 Hour and 3 Minutes Later, 2:13pm.  
  
“Will! Will, you’re ready.” Hannibal said at long last, and those words couldn’t come fast enough. “A full ten centimeters, it’s safe to push.”  
  
Will situated himself, firmly grasping his lover’s hand, as Hannibal gave him a nod of approval. At the next contraction that followed, he summoned the energy that hadn’t been sucked away by the labor, and pushed. He pushed hard, and felt something definitely shift inside. Will gasped for breath, body momentarily going slack, before he tensed up and pushed again.  
  
“Not too hard.” Hannibal warned, and Will slowed down.  
  
The baby was certainly moving along. He felt a hard, deep pressure sitting in his pelvis, just ready for him to push it out. It was heavy and sat unmoving in his hips, but there the child was, finally able to come. Hannibal nudged Will’s thighs, coaxing him to spread his legs wider.  
  
“Push again when you feel another contraction.” Hannibal advised, and Will nodded. He could hear the tension and excitement in his voice, see Hannibal’s hair sticking to his forehead as he sat between Will’s open legs.  
  
Will steadied himself, once again breathing deeply through the nose, huffing hard when he felt a new pang of discomfort. He propped himself up on his elbows and pushed hard, groaning through his contraction. He felt a large, slick heaviness moving through his insides, absolutely ready to come out, now. He was flushed and red-faced by the time that contraction ended. The baby hadn’t breached, yet. Hannibal had taken to gently massaging on Will’s stomach, in a smooth, downward motion, to maybe persuade the child into moving further.  
  
When it came time for Will to push again, he only felt a solid pressure resting in his hips, not even moving. The labor was wearing out the baby. Will knew it; it was too strenuous for it to handle, too stressful. Still, he pushed again, even though nothing happened.  
  
Will was panting, now, and that got Hannibal’s attention. He rubbed downward on the sides of Will’s stomach, seeing if it might help.  
  
“I-I can feel another one…” he grunted softly.  
  
“Push when it comes, Will.”  
  
“No, I-- I think they’re stuck.” he said, and he saw the moment fear hit Hannibal’s eyes. A dark and strange new feeling to his partner. Something like alarm - but not quite. It was a whole different ballpark. “I can feel them, th-they’re just resting on my pelvis-- Hannibal, we need…”  
  
Will let his sentence trail away, just abandoning the prospect of explanation. He immediately grasped the headboard, pulling himself upward by it and putting the lower half of his body at a strong, downward angle. He felt a sudden rush of fluid soaking his thighs and an awe-inspiring, brilliant pressure between his hips. Hannibal helped him stay at this angle as another contraction rumbled through his body. His abdomen swelled as he pushed again, Hannibal’s face an unvarnished portrait of delight when the baby’s head became visible.  
  
Hannibal smiled up at him, maroon eyes glinting with a flicker of hope. Will pushed again, hard and deep, as he slowly managed to squeeze the baby’s head out.  
  
“Will - Will, keep pushing.” Hannibal said, and he chuckled at the utter glee in his voice.  
  
Will did what he had to do, arms trembling from holding up his own weight on the headboard, and pushed one more time. He groaned as the baby’s shoulders were ever-so slowly inched out of him, Hannibal holding and supporting their torso. One or two more pushes, and he’d have them out. Another grueling push, another hellish contraction, and he gasped out loud as he felt the weight of their child slide free.  
  
Hannibal held the baby in his arms, the beautiful child just cradled close to him as Will let himself down. Fatiguing and euphoric in the heat of it, he was smiling as widely as Hannibal.  
  
_“Will!”_ he exclaimed, “Will, you… you did it.”  
  
Will laughed, not even feeling the back-breaking aches quite yet. Their baby was healthy and well-developed, stained in reddish-clear fluid from the womb, cooing quietly. Hannibal cut the umbilical cord, then took a wet towel and started cleaning their skin.  
  
“By the skin of our teeth, love…” Hannibal murmured in awe.  
  
“Oh, my God, you were difficult.” Will heaved, laughing as Hannibal was wide-eyed and amazingly happy.  
  
“Yes, she was, wasn’t she?” he said.  
  
“She? It’s a girl?”  
  
“It’s a girl.” Hannibal chuckled, nodding. “It’s a girl, Will.”  
  
Will couldn’t stop smiling. He watched as Hannibal cradled their baby girl in his arms, blood and fluid on his hands and shirt, but it didn’t even matter. She was pawing helplessly at her daddy’s shirt, cooing and gurgling. Hannibal suddenly broke Will’s trance, bringing him in for a kiss. It was a blurry, numb touch of the lips, his vision a kaleidoscope of excitement and utter bliss.  
  
“Why did you do that, Will?” he asked, smiling down at their daughter.  
  
“I was… curious, to see what would happen.”  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
_Three Years Later_  
  
“Abigail!”  
  
“Abigail, be careful, honey.” Will called, Hannibal running to their daughter by the playhouse.  
  
Will Graham set down two glasses of iced tea - and a plastic cup for Abigail, at a picnic table between the house and the ocean. He looked at the pleasant old house, salt-silvered wood in the clear light. It was a pristine Winter afternoon, dead leaves crunching beneath a thinned layer of soft snow. Will Graham leisurely strolled behind his husband, as he chased their daughter through the bushes. She toddled and teetered as she ran at a gallop, giggling when her daddy picked her up in his arms.  
  
“Aah, see, there’s the aeroplane!” Hannibal laughed, spinning around for Abigail to spin.  
  
Will smiled, as a few of the dogs trotted past to join. He watched warmheartedly as Hannibal twirled their baby girl around. Abigail squealed when the bow in her dark hair fell on the ground.  
  
“Dada, pick it up!” she giggled, and Hannibal put it back in her hair.  
  
“Oomph, there’s a good girl.” Hannibal said, gently setting her down again. She grabbed a big, stiff maple leaf from the ground, then set onward to run towards her father. She looked adorable and very happy, scampering towards the picnic table beneath the oak tree.  
  
“Papa, this for you.” she said, smiling widely as Will took the leaf.  
  
“Thank you.” he said, pulling her up into his arms as Hannibal came back to them. “And thank _you_ for waiting.”  
  
Hannibal kissed his cheek, then Abigail’s. “We couldn’t leave without you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Leap Day, and hope you guys enjoyed this little fic. :)  
> Tell me what you thought. Love you babies <3


End file.
